When it was suicide-bomber violence all the time, the MSM couldn’t get enough coverage of Iraq…even if they had to use video and pictures provided by (and sometimes staged by) the terrorists, themselves….my, how times have changed:
NEW YORK — Remember the war in Iraq?
The question isn’t entirely facetious. The war has nearly vanished from TV screens over the past few months, replaced by stories about the fascinating presidential campaign and faltering economy.
Yet Americans continue to fight and die there, five years after the war started in March 2003…
…Statistics clearly illustrate the diminished attention. For the first 10 weeks of the year, the war accounted for 3 percent of television, newspaper and Internet stories in the Project for Excellence in Journalism’s survey of news coverage. During the same period in 2007, Iraq filled 23 percent of the news hole.
The difference is even more stark on cable news networks: 24 percent of the time spent on Iraq last year, just 1 percent this year.
And its not like there isn’t plenty of “if it bleeds, it leads” sort of stories to report from Iraq…but it seems that stories of terrorists bleeding at the hands of Coalition and Iraqi forces just doesn’t command the media attention which suicide bombs used to. Why is this? Simple – to report from Iraq in 2008 is to report that we’re winning – and this doesn’t fit the MSM template for Iraq, and thus it becomes a non-story.
But we here at Blogs for Victory haven’t forgotten the war – and here’s a recent story of another victory in Iraq.
Blogs For Victory 
from the same article, between your edition suspension points :
Wow, I’m first. Sweet.
Mark,
I don’t remember seeing any massive amounts of coverage about the recent suicide bombings on this site or on any news network. These events have become footnotes. No one wants to hear the bad news, especially those on this site.
It is a shame how this site censors its coverage of the war. The stories of our service men sacraficing themselves for the country are just as important as the syrupy human interest stories that pop up here on a near daily basis.
That is called journalism old man! The goal is to bring the news to as many eyes and ears as possible. In war time stories of success and failure drive up ratings and sell newspapers and magazines. When other matters closer to the hearts and wallets of the people crop up, like your currwent economic miasma, the media shift on their heels toward the story each covering their own angle.
Here is a classic example. There had been several threats to the life of Claude Erignac who was to become prefect of southern Corsica in early February 1998 and we had been followign the story closely when President Clinton’s affair was exposed by Drudge and others. The Erignac story was still front page news on a slow day because it would be like an American governor being killed by terrorists. But the sex scandal pushed that all aside. Much like the Spitzer case the war in Iraq has taken on a sort of “who cares” place in the American psyche among those people with no one in Iraq.
Maybe if there were more troops in Iraq the story would be different the country would be more secure and more people would be interested in the success of the mission. Sadly, the war was fought on the slight because of the fear of backlash politically, which of course there would have been, if tens of thousands had been slaughtered by nevrve gas. Well then it is a good thing that the Iraqi Revolutionary Guards had no nerve gas then.
I do find it curious that just a couple of years ago many in the political right in America wanted the MSM censured so that they couldn’t show the American forces being carved up by IEDs on a daily basis and now you would like to see the MSM report that your side is somehow “winning.” I take the MSM to task that they should just do as Reuters and the AP have been doing all along feed the news out as it happens and let editors, like myself, make the decisions regarding what leads and what doesn’t.
Qu’ul cuda praedex nihil!
if it DON’T bleed, it DOESN’T lead !
and…
all the news we fit to print !
Fine… you want media coverage?
You remember that country? You know… the one that we attackedfor backing AQ (those who attacked us on 9/11). It is also that country that we took our eye off to go to Iraq.
As the saying so, “Its the ecomony, stupid.” I am not calling you stupid Mark, I am just saying most Americans are much more concerned about the economy at this time. There are still Americans dying in Iraq, but very few Americans have anyone serving in Iraq so they are not keeping up with what is happening at this time with either Iraq or Afghanistan. If the draft is ever reinstated, you will see a great interest in the war and getting out of Iraq.
Not long ago, the media was driven by getting their news in front of the most people first. This allowed larger circulation and higher advertising rates which meant higher profits and prosperity for the news corp’s stockholders. But they’ve now transitioned into politically-led “persuaders” to their political causes (mostly leftist) so the story gets distorted, “news” is selected on the political impact, and profits suffer. Just look at value loss at the New York Times for example. They have abandoned the principles that once made them the most respected newspaper in the land. Now its losses, dropping stock prices, layoffs-all signs of a disregard for accurate news and a political agenda regardless of what it costs them. Most of the MSM has fallen into the same trap and are suffering the same problems getting readers/viewers. I call this the Pravda model.
“Just look at value loss at the New York Times for example. They have abandoned the principles that once made them the most respected newspaper in the land. Now its losses, dropping stock prices, layoffs-all signs of a disregard for accurate news and a political agenda regardless of what it costs them. Most of the MSM has fallen into the same trap and are suffering the same problems getting readers/viewers. I call this the Pravda model.”
I call you a tool, have you heard of the internet? I don’t think it is because the times has become a pravda style social tool, just because the real world doesn’t agree with your wingnut worldview. Are all the world media except faux news and wingnut blogs wrong, hmmmm I wonder if the people who have been wrong about everything the last 7 years are right this time finally or maybe you are still wrong.
KARBALA, Iraq (CNN) — A female suicide bomber apparently targeting Shiite worshippers killed at least 33 people and wounded at least 50 in Karbala on Monday, according to an Interior Ministry official.
The incident occurred one-half mile from the Imam Hussein shrine of Karbala.
No more information was immediately available about the blast southwest of the capital city, Baghdad.
Earlier Monday, in Baghdad, a roadside bomb exploded near an Iraqi police patrol, killing one officer and wounding another, the Interior Ministry told CNN.
A short time later, another roadside bomb exploded near an Iraqi police patrol on Palestine Street in eastern Baghdad, wounding four bystanders, a ministry official said.
The first attack took place about 8:30 a.m. in the upscale Mansour neighborhood, where law enforcement officials have come under frequent attacks in recent weeks.
Also Monday, two American soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb north of Baghdad, officials said.
The incident occurred about 12:20 p.m. as the soldiers were “conducting a route-clearance combat operation north of Baghdad,” according to a news release.
The names of the soldiers were not immediately released.
Meanwhile, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney arrived in the Iraqi capital Monday on an unannounced visit.
Cheney told reporters that the five years in Iraq since the war’s start has been “well worth the effort.”
BAGHDAD: Iraqi security forces clashed with a breakaway faction of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army again on Saturday, leaving five dead and 15 injured in the latest violence to sweep the country, police said.
The fighting between the gunmen and police in Kut, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) southeast of Baghdad, has lasted for several days, police officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
That attack followed a suicide car bombing on Thursday of an Iraqi army checkpoint in Tikrit, 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Baghdad. One Iraqi soldier was killed and nine wounded in that blast, the military said.
MOSUL, Iraq, March 16 (Xinhua) — Eleven people were wounded in a suicide bomb attack and a following roadside bomb explosion outside the office of a Kurdish party in the city of Mosul on Sunday, a provincial police source said.
“A suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest blew himself up at about 10:30 a.m. (0730 GMT) in front of the office of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in the al-Nabi Younis neighborhood in northeastern Mosul,” the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The attack resulted in the wounding of nine people, including one of the office guards, the source said.
Afterwards, a roadside bomber went off near a police patrol while heading to the site of the first bombing, destroying a police vehicle and wounding two policemen aboard, the source added.
The KDP is headed by Massoud Barzani, president of Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq.
Since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, there have been some demands from Kurdish parties that Nineveh province, including its capital Mosul, should be included in the Kurdish regional government.
Since then, Kurdish fighters have been moving into the city causing some tensions with majority Sunni Arab population.
BAGHDAD, March 15–A bomber has blown himself up at a border post on the Iraqi-Syrian border, killing an interpreter and wounding six other people, the US military said Saturday.
It said that the wounded included two US troopers, two personnel from the US Department of Army and two customs security personnel.
The incident occurred on Friday at the Rabiyah border entry point, 120 km (75 miles) north of the northern city of Mosul.
The military statement did not elaborate on the identities of the wounded people from Department of Army or customs security personnel.
US commanders claimd that Syria is the main transit point for foreign insurgents crossing into Iraq.
They say around 40 to 50 foreign fighters a month enter Iraq through Syria, most of them potential bombers.
On Thursday, At least 18 people were killed and 64 injured in a car bombing in central Baghdad, security officials said.
The bomber detonated his explosives-laden vehicle in the Iraqi capital’s Bab al-Sharji area at around 2:00 pm (1100 GMT), they said.
Police were searching the area for the bomber’s accomplice, witnesses said.
Insurgents have stepped up attacks in Baghdad since February after a lull in violence since the middle of last year.
On March 6, twin bombings killed at least 68 people in a busy commercial district.
On February 1, two female bombers detonated their explosives vests in two pet markets and killed 98 people.
US officials blamed both attacks on Al-Qaeda in Iraq.
BAGHDAD (AP) — Sometime soon, the U.S. military will suffer the 4,000th death of the war in Iraq.
When the 1,000th American died in September 2004, the insurgency was just gaining steam. The 2,000th death came as Iraq held its first elections in decades, in October 2005. The U.S. announced its 3,000th loss on the last day of 2006, at the end of a year rocked by sectarian violence.
The 4,000th death will come with the war further out of the public eye, and replaced by other topics on the front burner of the U.S. presidential campaigns.
Analysts say the 4,000 dead, while an arbitrary marker, could inject the war debate back into the campaign season, particularly with the war’s fifth anniversary on Thursday. Or, with overall violence lower in Iraq, the milestone could pass with far less public discussion than in past years.
Last year was the deadliest for American troops in Iraq, with 901 troops killed. As of Sunday, at least 3,988 Americans have died in Iraq.
Let me try this again……
NeoClown, how are all those things still happening?
According to Mr Mark Noonan on 12/28/07, we already won in Iraq
According to Mr Mark Noonan on 1/11/08, We were doing so well, we handed Anbar over to Iraqi Control
According to Mr Mark Noonan on 3/1/08, The Iraqis were “draining the terrorist swamp”
So how could all those car bombs and such still be happening?
Mark, do you really want more coverage of Iraq?
Iraq and the economy are both not going to bode well for the GOP in November and will certainly not bode well for this Administration in the history books.
Oh yes….
Mr Bush 5/1/03 – “Mission Accomplished”. And “Major Combat Operations in Iraq Have Ended.”
And of course…
Mr Cheney 6/20/05 – The insurgency in Iraq is “in the last throes.”
So with all these insane declarations, why would anyone believe anyone in this administration or Mr Noonan on anything as it relates to Iraq?
He’s right, if there were a draft you’d hear a lot more about the war.
But even if the media ran more stories about what is going on then you guys would be screaming bias.
Are you aware of what the average daily Iraqi civilian death count is? It’s a large number and pretty disgusting.
So Mark, I have asked this question on here at least twice with suprisingly absolutely not a peep out of you or your fans.
How do you define “vitctory” and/or “winning” in Iraq?
Oh wait…. another JUST TODAY…
VP Cheney:
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday declared the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq a “successful endeavor” in a visit to Iraq that was overshadowed by a suicide bombing that killed at least 25 people.
Come now… how much more BS has to be slung before the rest of the 19%-ers wake up to truth.
The truth of the matter is how can you define Victory or a win when you’ve already said you’ve won a couple years earlier. It’s like convicting someone for murder, then years later trying him again on new evidence for a different case. The conventional war was a hands down victory, I mean the US does occupy Iraq. So now it’s a question of the re-building and stopping the civil war. And stopping the terrorists who have now come to Iraq because it’s easier to kill Americans there than to attack the US homeland. So I guess in a sense that is a bit of a victory, a place has been created where this war can play out with minimal American Civilian Causalities.
The political battle will take decades to ‘win’. Democracy at gun point? This is not democracy, especially when there is so much controversy in US politics. Personally, I feel someone trying to tell me to get my house in order while behind them theirs is burning is laughable at best.
The one thing I am truly interested in is what will happen to Bush and his advisers when he is no longer POTUS. A war started from lies, crumbling economy, healthcare and social securities which are not doing much better. Failed immigration policies, a media which once could be credited with removing two presidents from office (Nixon and Clinton) now discredited, the list continues. I’m just curious as to who will be held accountable.
But Mark, you are right. What Media Bias? When did this start? A sex scandal isn’t really news is it? Who wants to hear about the economy? Anna Nicole Smith is still dead?
I’m still holding out hope for a completely objective thread someday where there is no cherry picking and you weigh both sides equally. Maybe I’m expecting to much, but theres always hope.
It wouldn’t be a week at Blogs For Victo(r)y without whining about the mean old media that’s constantly conspiring to suppress all the absolutely great news coming out of Iraq. With all the schools being opened, you’d think you couldn’t walk ten feet without bumping into one. However, Mark is always Johnny-on-the-spot to rebroadcast the official government line from the Multinational Force Iraq website whose server sits in Ft. Huachuca, Arizona.
Ok then, that’s a fair statement.
Mark, do you think we have already won?
SteaM, since he had a headline on one of his posts that read How We Won in Iraq, I would say yes… Mark has claimed victory.
I’m all for claiming victory if that means we can finally start drawing down.
We’ve won the war in Iraq, were now fighting the war on terror….don’t you know anything sheesh (sarcasim)
sheesh, I forgot that SAR. The “global” war on terror…
Well, kiss our economy goodbye while they bleed us of all our resources.
We cannot win a global war on an idea.
Is anyone else here shocked by the nearly round-the-clock coverage Fox News is giving to Obama’s pastor?
Even for Fox News it is excessive. They have completely thrown aside the whole “fair & balanced” schtick.
“We cannot win a global war on an idea.”
EXACTLY! Why are people not seeing this or even saying it. Well said sir, well said